Students must come to school every day the school is open. This is known as regular attendance.

Students are more likely to want to come to school and achieve if they feel:

• included
• valued
• respected
• supported.

Students who miss school often

The attendance policy defines the following groups of students as at risk because of how often they miss school.

• Habitual non-attendance: a student misses 5 to 9 school days in a term. This is for any reason.
• Chronic non-attendance: a student misses 10 or more days in a term. This is for any reason.

For students in these groups, we assess the level of risk to their learning and wellbeing. When a student is at risk we will talk with the family about the issues.

Our school's vision

At Clovelly Park Primary School, we believe every student has the right to learn, grow and reach their full potential. Regular attendance supports learning, wellbeing, relationships and a strong sense of belonging. We provide a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment where every student feels valued and connected. We work in partnership with students, families and carers to identify barriers to attendance early and provide individualised support to help every student engage and succeed at school.

How we follow up if a student misses school

Below provides an overview of how we follow up student absences. We work in partnership with families to understand and address barriers to attendance. Our approach may be adjusted to meet individual student and family needs, with early follow up aiming to reduce ongoing patterns of absence.

1. If a student misses school, we record their absence. We also record the reason given by the parent or carer.
2. If we receive no reason, we follow up with the parent or carer. This is usually by phone or text (SMS).
3. If the absences continue or there are concerns raised by the absence, we keep following up. This might be by phone, email, meeting or a letter.
   • We support the family to look at any issues that stop the student from going to school.
   • If needed, we connect the family to other services. For example student support services.

Our data

At Clovelly Park Primary School our student attendance records help us to plan how we improve school attendance.

We routinely analyse data. We look at patterns. For example the attendance of different year levels. We also look at individual student attendance.

Clovelly Park Primary School is a diverse school community comprising Mainstream, Special Options and the Intensive English Language Program (IELP). Students across these settings have a wide range of educational, developmental, cultural, wellbeing and/or family circumstances that may impact attendance. As a result, our attendance data is dynamic and can change regularly in response to student enrolments, transitions and individual circumstances. Regular attendance is essential to student learning, wellbeing and connection to school. Attendance data is monitored to identify emerging concerns, patterns of absence and students requiring additional support. The school works collaboratively with students, families, Department for Education services and external agencies to identify barriers to attendance and implement appropriate strategies. This may include individualised attendance and engagement planning, regular follow up of unexplained or prolonged absences, wellbeing and pastoral care supports, communication regarding attendance expectations and exemption processes, and referrals to additional services where required. Clovelly Park Primary School is committed to early intervention, consistent follow up and strengthening student engagement and connection to school.

Our approach to improving attendance

At Clovelly Park Primary School our attendance strategies are guided by the South Australian Department for Education's attendance policy.

We will plan, implement and review the following attendance improvement actions. We will do this with our governing council, staff, students, families and local community.

Promote

We will promote the importance of education from the earliest years of life and throughout the schooling years as a school community priority of the highest value.

Our actions

Assess

We will assess patterns of non-attendance and circumstances. We will use this to inform the development of appropriate targeted, intensive and coordinated interventions.

Our actions

Engage

We will actively engage and include all children, young people and their families in education and interventions which support attendance.

Our actions

Support

We will provide support to address the barriers to attendance, learning and wellbeing. We will make sure there is inclusive support for children and young people so they can be physically present and engaged in education.

Our actions

Monitor

We will monitor attendance to make sure that risks are identified, supports are in place, and progress is monitored.

Our actions

Evaluate

We will evaluate the need for further or ongoing interventions, referrals for external support and mandatory notifications.

Our actions